iTunes for windows...great move...so can we expect os x for PCs?

Retired

i believe os x for PCs would be great...basically, mac users buy macs and new mac usets like to switch mostly do to the great looks and funtionality of the hardware

i think macs would still sell at the same rate and apple can make a few extra bucks if they made os x work on PCs so curious users can experience the ease of use us mac users have known for years...expecially compared to PCs running windows

i am going to get panther for my mac, but if os x were to work on PCs, i would gladly buy a copy for my compaq laptop and leave windows behind forever

macrumors 68020

Originally posted by jefhatfield having followed apple since the 1970s,

who thought steve wozniak would leave apple?

that steve jobs would get fired?

that the ibm PC and clones would overtake apple machines?

that steve jobs would come back?

that apple would have an alliance with ibm or microsoft?

that the imac would get an lcd and g4 at the same time?

that the ibook would get a g4 before macworld sf 2004?

etc...

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But all of that does nothing to change the fact that Apple is a hardware manufacturer and the magnificent OS, cool apps, etc are just there to sell the hardware. My own belief is that Mac OS for the PC would be the last ditch effort to keep the compay alive.

macrumors 6502a

1) their hardware sales would tank. i mean, i like apple as much as the next guy, but if i can get faster pc hardware for a fraction of the price, i'd be nuts not to.

and 2) their tech support division would incease by a factor of 10 overnight. even by restricting the "recommended hardware" requirements to a ridiculously thin slice of the market, they would still have large compatibility problems. look at it4w.

i think apple should stay separate and focus on increasing it's own market share, but that's just my opinion.

macrumors regular

appel would have microsofts security problems over night. The problem with microsoft is they have to be generic in their programing to ensure maximum compatibility. this caused many problems and hold windows back in many ways. apple has the benifit of only programing to its own hardwar. apple can be very specific, that, in part, is what makes apple's os more secure. Moving to x86 would be a terrible move unless they controlled what x86 proc.,motherboard, gpu, would be allowed to run it.

thread starterRetired

Originally posted by Horrortaxi But all of that does nothing to change the fact that Apple is a hardware manufacturer and the magnificent OS, cool apps, etc are just there to sell the hardware. My own belief is that Mac OS for the PC would be the last ditch effort to keep the compay alive.

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steve jobs on his first tenure at apple inc and loss of increasing amounts of market share to the PC world:

"My biggest mistake was not realizing that Apple was a software company, not a hardware company"

need i say more?

and who here would buy an inferior PC (instead of a mac) to save a few bucks if it ran os x?..not me

macrumors 65816

Originally posted by Thanatoast 2) their tech support division would incease by a factor of 10 overnight. even by restricting the "recommended hardware" requirements to a ridiculously thin slice of the market, they would still have large compatibility problems. look at it4w.

i think apple should stay separate and focus on increasing it's own market share, but that's just my opinion.

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yeah... I'd rather see them run their GUI on Redhat or the United-Linux base.... let Redhat worry about the underlying hardware.

On a different but related note - would Apple lose anything by open-sourcing the Cocoa API? Throw developers behind it too and get it running on Linux and Windows. I think it would encourage development on Cocoa which would be (in the short and long term) good for the Mac.

thread starterRetired

many people who use macs like the fact that the company is small and the market share is small...it makes them feel like the marines...the few and the proud

and i think people fear that porting os x everywhere would make apple bigger, richer, and ultimately just another big, uncaring high tech company indistinguishable from a giant like ibm or hp-compaq

and if apple inc ever became that big, many who like the eliteness of mac would find something else to be proud and exclusive about

it's like linux...in the early days, it was rare and linux heads were an exclusive and tight knit community and if one person met another who did linux, it was " hey, long lost brother, come share my house and share my wife and join us in our santa cruz commune"

one of my first high tech job offers was at a linux company near the santa cruz nude beaches and boy were those people strange...tight knit but very bhagwan or koresh-like

macrumors 65816

Originally posted by Macco But over this whole time, their basic business philosophy has not changed. Apple always has, and always will, provide the "whole widget," including the hardware, software, and the OS.

macrumors 604

all i know is that if apple made mac os x for pc's i wouldnt install it. there is a reason i have a pc, for windows. it just doesnt make sense for apple to do this in my opinion. apple is in its best position to make switchers more than ever right now.

macrumors 6502a

We'll see Windows on a mac (not VPC, bootable Windows) before a macos on a pc. The reason OSX works is because of the hardware. Put it on a PC and most of the OSX benefits are lost. If you have a PC, just use Linux.

macrumors 68030

It would be financially disastrous. Apple's software sales cannot support its operations. It probably can't even support software development entirely.

Apple depends on its hardware division in order to thrive. To create an x86 version of OS X would prevent many people from becoming switchers and would shift many Mac users over the PC hardware.

The experience would also be very different. One of the things I love about Apple is that it designs everything and that it oversees very carefully the 3rd-party components that go into its hardware. Moreover, with a limited subset of hardware supported, Apple can optimize its operating system to a degree that Microsoft will never be able to.

Increased compatability also means decreased reliability. The Mac OS would no longer be the absolute superior, because hardware and software are inextricably tied to performance. The Mac is a well-engineered machine because it is a cohesive one, not a mismatch of parts that do not work together optimally. Slapping the Mac OS on such a mish-mash system would greatly reduce the operating system's performance.

macrumors 604

It would be financially disastrous. Apple's software sales cannot support its operations. It probably can't even support software development entirely.

Apple depends on its hardware division in order to thrive. To create an x86 version of OS X would prevent many people from becoming switchers and would shift many Mac users over the PC hardware.

The experience would also be very different. One of the things I love about Apple is that it designs everything and that it oversees very carefully the 3rd-party components that go into its hardware. Moreover, with a limited subset of hardware supported, Apple can optimize its operating system to a degree that Microsoft will never be able to.

Increased compatability also means decreased reliability. The Mac OS would no longer be the absolute superior, because hardware and software are inextricably tied to performance. The Mac is a well-engineered machine because it is a cohesive one, not a mismatch of parts that do not work together optimally. Slapping the Mac OS on such a mish-mash system would greatly reduce the operating system's performance.

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thats exactly what i was going to say earlier, im just at work and to lazy to write all my thoughts. well said.

macrumors 68030

oh, and iTMS for Win can't really be used as suggestive that Mac OS will be ported to x86. That's like saying that Quicktime constitutes such evidence.

However, Quicktime was released for Windows to make it a media standard that would then draw creative professionals to Macs in order to use the best-designed quicktime creation tools.

And iTMS was introduced for Windows in order to best the competition, keept he buzz up, and sell more iPods to PC users.

I feel that every PC release is tied to advertising the Mac, creating a standard, and using both to increase hardware market penetration.

That's possible with a Mac OS for PCs, but the negating factors are too strong: The draw of Mac users to PC hardware and the satisfaction of PC users with their hardware + Mac OS (even if the combo doesn't work as well as Mac hardware + Mac OS).

macrumors regular

macrumors 65816

Originally posted by Ramsos Marklar is dead and will be ressurected when pigs fly

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Though I agree with you, be careful, your line could one day be a headline on the Apple site - instead of "Hell Froze Over" it could be "And Pigs Flew".

There are various things I'd like to see Apple do - like Cocoa everywhere, all their software they have available everywhere (Windows, LINUX, and more?), and so on. Apple also has a unique ability because it can make specific products combining hardware and software and that is a great thing that MUST be kept (IMO) - though a lot can be done within that constraint.

But I realise cross platform isn't their philosophy. They want to control everything as much as possible (with the occassional toe in the water, but always very safely). I'd love to see them go all out with cross platform ideas (like IBM did 5 years ago) .... everything working anywhere.

Selling stuff for Windows will affect Mac hardware and people's attitude towards Apple. But in what way? Some people who would have bought Mac won't. Some who would not have bought Mac will. Does it end up increasing sales or not?

Like I said I think this is all unlikely, it's just not Apple's philosophy. But I'd love to see it.

macrumors 601

i think the big reason why apple made available itunes for windows was specifically to get more people to buy from their music store. apple doesn't mind selling apps that work with their os to have them work on other operating systems. but what would be the benefit for apple to sell their entire os to pcs? the big goal of apple right now is to convert others to come over to their hardware, system etc. how would selling their os aid in this? it wont really. i think it would be a contradiction of their goals. apple wants to sell more macs right? why would they want to aid people in buying more pcs? to have a mac without the mac (osx on a pc) would contradict apples primary purpose. osx for pcs would sell more pcs and less macs, i tunes for windows doesn't sell more pcs it sells for the apple music store.... its saying ... okay if you must have a pc heres a little something from apple for ya that we would in-turn benefit from without a big risk. if they sold their os to other systems it would be too great of a risk. i tunes for windows is not a risk at all but if it is one its a small one.

mind you i do see the benefits of apple selling their os over to other systems. its just when weighted (is that a word?) together... you know comparatively speaking... the cons far out way the pros... in my opinion. that in addition to the primary purpose of apple right now which is to sell more macs not to sell more pcs.

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